Transformative Works and Cultures

I really only became an active fan in the LJ era, although I lurked a bit before that, so a lot of your history here is interesting to me for that reason alone.

You thesis that in part because of the nature of LJ we've become rather like an oroborous -- constantly eating and regurgitating our own stories -- also interests me. One of the things I like best about fanfiction is that it's a giant metatext that talks back, and revisits the same cliches and plot twists in various permutations. It seems that what you're saying is that meta is working in just the same way; and now that I'm thinking about it, that doesn't seem surprising at all. That's the way we've been trained to behave in this sphere, yes?

What I find frustrating (although less so these days, as I've just let it go) is that we are so reluctant to trace the patterns of influence in our stories, as though it is impolite somehow. But I love the traces! And I love that they are different for each reader, even if not, perhaps, for the writer. I wish we could have *that* conversation, but I think it is still a way off.

Thanks for a thinky essay. I enjoyed it a lot, as I'm sure you can tell.